Last year Sasha Banks parted ways with WWE and in the months that followed there were a lot of rumors making the rounds in regards to her status. All of the rumors were cleared up last month when she debuted as Mercedes Mone at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom and made it clear that she wanted to challenge Kairi for the IWGP Women’s Championship.
Mercedes Mone got her title shot on Saturday night at NJPW Battle in the Valley, and she became the second IWGP Women’s Champion when she put Kairi away with the Mone Maker. After the match Mercedes and Kairi showed respect to one another with a handshake and a hug.
Always bank on yourself! #Monè #CEO #IWGPWomensChampion pic.twitter.com/jTwq4MLA6y
— Mercedes Varnado (@MercedesVarnado) February 19, 2023
The title match was Mercedes Mone’s first match since she walked out of WWE in May of 2022. She last competed at the WWE Sunday Stunner event on May 15, 2022 where she and Naomi successfully defended the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles against Natalya & Shayna Baszler. Both Merecedes Mone and Naomi walked out of WWE the next day.
Despite her situation with WWE, Mercedes Mone still clearly has supporters in the company as she recently revealed in a video that Triple H texted her ahead of her WWE debut when she said, “Also at midnight, I got a very nice text from Triple H. Still it’s crazy and I got an amazing text from William Regal this morning.”
Stay tuned for more updates as they become available.
